Sri Lanka Army troops serving in the Northern region
carried out several public welfare programmes over the weekend in view
of the 70th Independence Anniversary. According to Army media, troops of
59, 64 and 68 Divisions and the Forward Maintenance Area - Mullaithivu (FMA-MLT)
under the Security Force Headquarters - Mullaithivu (SFHQ-MLT)
volunteered to donate blood to the blood bank of the Base Hospital in
Mullaithivu on Sunday (04th February).

Troops of the 59, 64 and 68 Divisions also distributed
about 1200 plants of economic value such as Jak, Tamarind and Mahogany
among the people in the region.

Troops of the 68 Division in coordination with the ' A
Samarasinghe Optometrists' of Colombo organized a mobile eye clinic at Puthukkudiyiruppu Madya Maha Vidyalaya premises in Puthukkudiyiruppu on
the same day (04th Sunday). More than 350 pairs of glasses were
distributed to people with visual impairments during the clinic.

Meanwhile troops of 57, 65 and 66 Divisions of the
Security Force Headquarters - Kilinochchi (SFHQ-KLN) attended a
Shramadana Campaign (Self-help) on Saturday (03rd February) to clean up
the wards and the hospital premises of the Kilinochchi District
Hospital. More than 500 Army personnel attended the programme. They also
distributed fresh fruits to the patients receiving treatment there. The
Kilinochchi troops also volunteered to donate blood to replenish stocks
of the hospital's Blood Bank.

Shramadana programmes launched by the Kilinochchi
troops on Saturday also saw hospitals in Mullankavil, Akkarayankulam,
Mallavi, Pooneryn, Kilinochchi, Urathipuram and Varavil being cleaned.
Troops provided lunch and refreshments to the patients of these
hospitals as well.